Instant pot spaghetti is the ultimate quick weeknight dinner. Dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes made with ingredients you have in your pantry!
This instant pot spaghetti recipe is simple to make (get your teen in the kitchen!) and is always a huge hit at our house. Serve it alongside a raw brussels sprouts salad, and some 3 ingredient lemon pie!
Instant Pot Spaghetti
Ingredients for Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Spaghetti – Broken into thirds.
- Ground beef – You could also use ground sausage, turkey, or chicken.
- Onion – Diced.
- Garlic – Minced.
- Dried Italian seasoning
- Spaghetti sauce
- Petite diced tomatoes – canned or fresh
- Optional garnishes – Chopped basil & grated Parmesan
Spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, Italian seasoning, ground beef, garlic, & onions.
How do you make spaghetti in the instant pot? (Step-by-step)
⭐ First, saute ground beef and onions until beef is browned and onions are translucent. Add garlic and Italian seasoning and cook until fragrant.
⭐ Next, add spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes and water to the pot. Sprinkle the spaghetti on top, then push to submerge.
⭐ Then, cook on high pressure, quick release, then stir to combine.
⭐ Finally, season to taste and garnish with basil and grated Parmesan cheese.
Top left: saute ground beef and onion, top right: add garlic and seasoning, bottom left: add spaghetti sauce, bottom right: add tomatoes.
Preparation
Can you make instant pot spaghetti ahead of time?
This recipe is best when prepared immediately before serving.
Can I use meatballs instead of ground beef?
Absolutely! We love to toss in a pack of frozen meatballs in for a super quick dinner option. If the meatballs are frozen it may take an extra minute or two for the pot to come to pressure.
Top left: add water, top right: add pasta, bottom left; quick release, bottom right: stir well
Storage and leftovers
How long will instant pot spaghetti last?
It can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 days. You may need to add some extra liquid before heating it up as the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid.
Can you freeze instant pot spaghetti?
Technically yes, but odds are the noodles will be very mushy when thawed and reheated, so we don’t suggest this method.
If you do freeze the noodles, try covering with shredded mozzarella cheese and baking to reheat rather than serving as traditional spaghetti.
The dish will be liquidy at first. Let it set a few minutes to thicken.
Serving suggestions
This can absolutely be a meal on it’s own, but we like to prepare it with some quick yeast dinner rolls, a creamy broccoli salad, and a batch of Snickers brownies for dessert.
Variations
🟢 Make it vegetarian. Skip the ground beef and add chopped zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, eggplant, or bell peppers!
🟢 Add some spice. Throw in a few pinches of red pepper flakes for a kick.
🟢 Try it with sausage. Use mild or hot Italian sausage instead of the ground beef.
🟢 Go creamy. Stir in a block of cream cheese as soon as you release pressure and remove the lid. Yum!
We like to add garnishes to our individual plates rather than the full pot.
More awesome instant pot recipes to try
- Classic potato salad
- Creamy ranch chicken
- Broccoli cheese soup recipe
- Instant pot honey garlic chicken
- Check out all the recipes that can be made in the instant pot!
More Italian inspired recipes
- Antipasto pasta salad
- Homemade garlic knots
- Italian sausage soup
- Puttanesca pasta
- See all of our easy Italian dinner recipes!
We love how easy the instant pot makes dinner time!
Tools we love
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker – This electric pressure cooker, and my gas grill are the saving graces in our home. A delicious roast with carrots and potatoes in 45 minutes? Yes, please! You’re seriously going to love this one!
- Garlic press – Need fresh minced or sliced garlic, but don’t want to peel or chop your garlic? This garlic press is the bessssssst. We’ve had ours for as long as I can remember (maybe a wedding present?), and I use it several times a week!
😍😍😍
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How to Make Instant Pot Spaghetti
Instant Pot Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti broken into thirds
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 24 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
- 2 cans 14.5 ounces petite diced tomatoes
- 4 cups water
- salt & pepper to taste
- chopped basil & grated Parmesan optional
Instructions
- Using the saute function of your Instant Pot, cook the ground beef and onions until beef is browned and onions are translucent. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Turn off the saute function and drain grease if desired.
- Add the spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes and water to the pot. Sprinkle the spaghetti on top, making sure to fan it out so there are no clumps. Press the spaghetti down into the liquid so that most of it is covered (it's OK if some of it pokes out a little bit).
- Cook on manual (high pressure) for 9 minutes. Quick release, then stir to combine. Season to taste and garnish with basil and grated Parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- It may seem liquidy at first but it does thicken up as it sits/cools.
- Also, 9 minutes makes a softer noodle which is what my kids and I like with this recipe, I for a firmer noodle 5 - 7 minutes would work.
Nutrition
Instant Pot Spaghetti
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katerina says
The perfect spaghetti dinner! This is amazing!
Natalie says
I love how quick & easy this comes together!! Spaghetti is a favorite at our house & my go-to, when I am not sure what to make!
CAROL G NYE says
This reminded me of Franco American canned spaghetti. I would increase the spices. It was easy enough, though!!
Sue says
There’s only two of us in the house so I’d like to make a half batch would I half the amount of water?
April Woods says
I haven’t tried it, but I think that would work. You’ll want to make sure the noodles are covered.
Suzi Dodson says
Very easy, peasy! Thank you for sharing. I used meatballs in place of ground beef and gluten free pasta.
Polly B says
This is my “Go to Spaghetti Recipe” now. Since we shop at the local”Big Box Store” I use the whole larger sauce jar and pass on the tomatoes. I find 10 minutes is perfect everytime on my IP. So Easy!! So Quick!! So Delicious!!š
Pamela randol says
Can penne pasta be used instead spaghetti? Add kalamata olives?
Thanks
Pam
April Woods says
Yes to both š
Carol says
I have made this recipe so often I can do it without looking it up. My family loves it!
I have used ground beef, turkey, meat balls, fennel Italian sausage (which is my son’s favorite), bison and venison and it always comes out perfect, you just adjust the slices.
Thank you for this recipe!